Aspects of the present disclosure relate generally to wireless communication systems, and more particularly, to reducing interference to non-cellular communications on unlicensed bands.
Wireless communication networks are widely deployed to provide various communication services such as voice, video, packet data, messaging, broadcast, etc. These wireless networks may be multiple-access networks capable of supporting multiple users by sharing the available network resources. Examples of such multiple-access networks include Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA) networks, Time Division Multiple Access (TDMA) networks, Frequency Division Multiple Access (FDMA) networks, Orthogonal FDMA (OFDMA) networks, and Single-Carrier FDMA (SC-FDMA) networks.
A wireless communication network may include a number of network entities, such as base stations, that can support communication for a number of mobile entities/devices, such as, for example, user equipment (UE) or access terminals (ATs). A mobile device may communicate with a base station via a downlink and uplink. The downlink (or forward link) refers to the communication link from the base station to the UE, and the uplink (or reverse link) refers to the communication link from the UE to the base station.
The 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) Long Term Evolution (LTE) represents a major advance in cellular technology as an evolution of Global System for Mobile communications (GSM) and Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS). The LTE physical layer (PHY) provides a highly efficient way to convey both data and control information between a base station, such as an evolved Node B (eNB), and a mobile device, such as a UE.
With the increased deployment of neighborhood small cells (NSCs), such as, for example, femto cells or similar small cells, there will be an increased demand for the licensed spectrum, which will likely result in spectrum shortages. Deploying NSCs on the unlicensed spectrum (e.g., 5 GHz) can unleash huge potential in meeting increased spectrum demands. It is further noted that LTE can provide higher spectral efficiency as compared to IEEE 802.11 (Wi-Fi) in the unlicensed spectrum. However, the deployment of NCSs on the unlicensed spectrum may result in interference to non-cellular communications on the unlicensed band. In this context, there remains a need for techniques to reduce interference by NSCs deployed on unlicensed bands.